RIBA Moorfields competition results announced

In June last year, RIBA launched a competition to find designers for a new facility housing both Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. Now, AECOM with Penoyre & Prasad and White Arkitekter have been appointed to design the £250m integrated centre for these world-class leaders in eye care. Following the announcement, David Probert, Chief Executive of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “AECOM’s award-winning team was selected due to its exemplary innovation and creativity, outstanding design quality, and previous experience in delivering health, research and education facilities across the UK.”

Named Oriel, the idea for the new centre began as a joint proposal from Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL and Moorfields Eye Charity to relocate all services to a purpose built facility on a preferred site at St Pancras Hospital. The AECOM-led design team will now be working closely with Oriel’s project team to produce initial concepts, which will then be subject to a public consultation.

Dale Sinclair, AECOM Director of Technical Practice for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Our design for the proposed facility is focused on maximising collaboration and knowledge exchange, with an ‘oriel’ at the building’s centre enabling greater interaction between patients, clinicians and researchers. The facility’s public spaces would create a new urban realm that will connect seamlessly with the ongoing renaissance of the King’s Cross area of London.”

The ongoing design work will inform the project’s upcoming Outline Business Case. So far, Moorfields has managed to secure nearly £20 million of funding as part of the Department of Health and Social Care’s major investment in the long-term future of the NHS. If approved, the new facility could open to patients in 2025/26.

Lucy NordbergTenderStream Head of Research

This competition was first published by TenderStream on 08.06.2018 here